Rotary explosive-engine.



- C. R. 0RD.

ROTARY EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPUCATION man MAY 24, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

saga/G C. R. 0RD.

ROTARY EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APRLICATlON FILED MAY 24. i915.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

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2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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CRAVEN RGBERT G33, 03? IVIGADAM J U NCTIOH NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA.

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Canada, have invented certain new and use-- ful Improvements in Rotary Explosive En- 'gines, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description. 7

This invention relates to explosive en- -gines,' and is designed as an improvement on my former Patents, Nos. 968,969 and The object of the present invention is to adapt an engine of the type shown in my former patents to operate with explosive fuels.

- The invention consists broadly of a rotor having boresv parallel with the axis thereof,

and each-containing a fixed piston and a pair of sleeves sliding between the fixed piston and the rotor, and forming at the same time movin pistons for the rotor bores and moving cylinders for the fixed pistons. The engine receives gas and exhausts through the hollow shaft supporting the rotor.

In the drawings which illustrate the inventionz Figure 1 is a side elevation of the engine. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan View of the valve. Fig. 5 is an end view of the rotor half in section on the line -5-'5, Fi 2. Fig. 6 is a. fragmentary plan view illustrating the ignition mechanism. Fig. 7 shows a dctail of the cams and rollers.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, l1 de'signatesa cylindrical rotor having a plurality of bores 12 arranged axially parallel with the rotor axis. The rotor is mounted in bearings 13 on hollow shafts 1% and 17, the shaft 17 having a valve 15 revoluble. therein, and the shaft 14 communicating with exhaust ports 16 leading from the rotor bores.

The valve 15 has two longitudinal passages 18 and 19, theformer of which consheets with the carbureter 20 and the latter with a priming valve 21. These passages have ports 22 and 23 positioned midway between the ends of the rotor when the valve is in place, while the passage 19 has a second port 24 which may be termed a transfer port located a suitable distance around the circumference of the valve from the port 23 and Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

a lication and may 24-, 1915. Serial 30,019.

a suitable distance along the valve from the same port.

Each bore of the rotor contains a hollow fixed piston 25 mounted at its center and open at the ends, and so formed as to leave freea passage for gas from end to end of the bore externally as well as internally thereof. A port 26' is formed jointly in ,each piston and in the rotor adapted to connect the ports 22 or 23 with the interior of the fixed pistons. The rotor is in addition provided with ports 27 adapted to connect the rotor bores with thevalve port 24.

A sleeve 28 is slidably mounted in each end of each bore, and engages externally with the wall of the bore, and internally with the fixed pistons 25. The outer ends of these sleeves are closed, and provided. with suitably disposed rollers 30 and 31 traveling on cams 32 and 33. Extensions v34L from the rotorform guides in which the outer ends of the sleeves travel, and which take up the inward thrust of the rollers 30 on the cams 32, as explained in my previous patents.

A spark plug 35 is provided for each bore of the rotor and is radially disposed midway between the ends of the bore. These spark plugs each contain a rcvoluble core having a radially projecting external arm 36 drawn in one direction by a spring 37 connected between the arm and afixcd point 011 the rotor. A suitably journaled shaft 38 is provided above the engine axially parallel therewith,

and carries a piniouflt) meshing with a toothed ring 40 mounted on the outer surface of the rotor and having its bearing points formed of blocks of insulating material ll, which electrically separate the ring from the cylinder. A pivoted circuit maker 42 is mounted on the ring and is drawn constantly in a direction oppositeto the spark plug arms 36 by a spring 43.

The cooling means for the rotor consists of water passages 44 formed between the bores, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 and com municating at each end with passages 45 formed through the guides. A grooved, spring-pressed ring 46 is mounted in each bearing with the groove facing the ends of the guides, as b02591 in constant communication with the passages 45. Water inlet and outlet pipes 4*? and 48 are connected one to ring through the bearings. The cam are slidable longitudinally of the rotor and are connected withthe came 32 or with the bearings, if desired, by tension springs 19 and slotted links arranged alternately with springs, and engaging pins 50' in members 13. Thesprings provide resilient mountings for the cam rings 33 while links 50 prohibit excess movement thereof. A lever 51 is attached to the end of the valve,-and is provided at its free end with spiral teeth (not shown) whichmesh with a worm wheel 52 mounted in the bed of the engine and operated by a hand wheel 53, so

that the valve may be moved relatively to the rotor to regulate the intake and compressionof the gas.

The operation of the device as regards cooperation between the rollers 30' and cams 3'2 during the inward and outward movement of the sleeves causes rotation of the rotor, as fully described in my former patents, and need not be enlarged upon. Fuel supplied from the carbureter through the passage '18 is drawn through the valve port 22 and piston ports 26 into the hollow pistons in rotation by the outward movement of the sleeves on said pistons. Inward movement of the sleeves, after the ports 22 and 26 are out of register, compressesthe charge in each piston in rotation and forces it through the ports 26 and 23 into the passage 19, which forms a compressed gas receiver, and from which the gas escapes through the port 24: into the rotor bore opposite to that in whichit was compressed, and at a point where the sleeves are remote, so that there/is ample space in the annular chamber formed between the rotor bore wall and the fixed piston, for the reception of the gas without any increase in pressure. Further movement of the rotor brings the ports 9.6 and 2% out of I register and causes the sleeves to approach one another, so that the charge 1s compressed uniformly around the spark plug. At a suitable degree of compression, the explosion occurs in each bore successively and the expanding charge drives the sleeves apart, so that eventually the exhaust port 16 is-uncovered. After the exhaust ,port' is fully open, and the pressure of burnt gas is re? duced approximately to very slightly above atmospheric pressure, a fresh charge comes into the annular space through the stages previously described, and has the effect of driving out the last of the burnt charge before the exhaust port is covered by the incharge. This continues in rotation in each bore. vThe cam ring 33 is for the purpose of insuring outward movement of the sleeves, and consequently theintake of fresh charges, and also to hold the rollers 30 against the cams 32, thus preventing rattling or hammering. The action in all bores is the same, and isntheret'ore summarized by tracing the action of a single bore as fola suction in the hollow piston 25 and resulting in an indrawing of gas through the valve port 22 and rotor port 26 through oneh'alf revolution. ,During the succeeding half revolution when the port 26 is out of register '7 with the port 22 and coming into register with the port 23, the approaching sleeves drive the gas out through the port 23 into the passage 15), from which it escapes to another bore. During the first half revolution just mentioned, explosion and expansion of a previous charge occurin the an- 36 nular space between the piston and rotor bore, and the outwardly moving sleeves un-. cover the exhaust port 16 for the escape of the burnt charge, and the port 27 registers with the transfer 'port 2-1, so that the fresh 8 charge compressed in the passage 19 by another piston is admitted to drive out the exhaust and fill the bore ready for compression during the second half of the revolution. In other words, during the first half revolution, intake of charge occurs inside the piston, and explosion and expansion followed by exhaust. and the admission of a compressed charge take place outside the piston. On tlie'second half of the stroke, compression into the transfer passage 19 occurs within the piston and compression for explosion occurs outside the piston. It will be noted in Fig. 2 of the drawings that the rotor admission port 27 of'eaeh bore is 00 closer to the center thereof than the exhaust port 16, so that the port 27 is fully uncovered by the sleeve when the exhaust port is only partly uncovered. Backfiring through the transfer-port into the-transfer passage or reservoir 19 is prevented by the relation between the rotor and the valve, which is such that the valve'port 24: does not register with the rotor admission port 27 until the exhaust port 16 is fully open, and 119 the exhaust pressure reduced below the gas pressure in the transfer passage 19. The reasonft'or this arrangement is that the port 27 is uncovered .by the sleeve before the. I exhaust port 16 is uncovered by its sleeveat 5' the opposite end of the bore. This would allow the exhaust to strike back into the fresh gas before escaping to the atmosphere, but to prevent this, the valve keeps the port 27 closed until after the exhaust port 16 has 12 24 and27 will still be in register, and freshgas continues to flow from the transfer passage 1n the valve into the rotor bore, from which it cannot escape, owing to closure of the exhaust port. on further rotation of the chambers 44, between the rotor bores, and

then out at the other end of the rotor through a similar arrangement. The ignition arrangements as shown in the drawings are of the make and break type. As the rotor moves, the arms 36 of the spark plugs engage and disengage the arm 42 of the ring 40, t e spring mounting of the arms permitting-tl'iem'to slide over each other. When it is desired tochange the point at which sparking takes place, so that ignition will occur at either greater or less degree of com pression, the shaft 38 is rotated and the pinion 39 thereon moves the ring relatively to the rotor., The tread surfaces of the rollers are curved in such manner that the rollers tr vel in different paths on the cam 32, in or or to distribute the wear and prevent the rollers grooving the cams, as would occur if all traveled in the same path.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In an engine, a rotor having a bore parallel with the axis thereof, a piston of smaller diameter than the bore rigidly mounted at its center in the bore, a fixed cam ring, a sleeve having its outer end closed mounted in each end of the bore and slida bly engaging the rotor and Piston, a movable cam ring, a roller on the outer end of the sleeve engaging the fixed cam ring, and a second roller on the outer end of the sleeve engaging the movable cam ring.

2. .In an engine, a rotor having a pair of bores parallel with the axis thereof, a tubular piston of smaller diameter than the bore fixed in each bore, a sleeve slidable in each bore engaging the rotor and fixed piston, hollow shafts passing into the rotor, an exhaust port in each bo'rea predetermined distance from the center thereofcommunicating with one hollow shaft, a gas port connecting the hollow shaft and tubular piston, a second gas port a predetermined distance from the first, and a valve in'the other hollow shaft arranged to cover and uncover said gas ports.

3. In an engine, a rotor having a bore parallel with the axis thereof, a fixed piston,

and a pair of moving pistons in said bore, a passage extending concentrically through the rotor, a valve in said passage, an exhaust port connecting the bore and passage and controlled by one moving piston, and a plurality of gas ports connecting the bore and passageand controlled jointly by the other moving piston and the valve.

4. In an engine, a rotor having a pair of bores parallel with the axis thereof, a passage formed concentrically through the rotor, a tubular piston of smaller diameter than the bore fixed in each bore,-a sleeve in each bore slidably engaging the bore, and piston, a port connecting the interior of the piston with the rotor passage, a port connecting the annular space between the piston and rotor with the rotor passage, a .valve in said passage, a port therein arranged to communicate with the firstmentioned rotor ports alternately, and a transfer port in said valve arranged to connect the first mentioned rotor port of one bore with the sec- 0nd mentioned rotor port of the other bore intermediate the communication of the first mentioned valve port with the first mentioned rotor port..

5. In an engine, a rotor having a bore parallel with the axis thereof, a member slidable in said bore, a fixed cam ring, a roller mounted on the slidable member engaging said cam ring and arranged to drive the member into the rotor, a yieldably mounted cam ring, a second roller on the slidable member engaging the yieldably mounted cam ring and arranged to withdraw the slidable member from the rotor, and means for limiting the yield of said second cam ring.

6. In an engine, a rotor having a plurality of bores arranged parallel with the rotor axis, a cam ring at the end of the rotor having a conical surface, a piston slidable in each bore of the rotor, a roller having a rounded tread mounted on each piston and engaging said conical cam surface, said rollers being formed to'travel in different paths on the cam.

7. In an engine, a rotor, a plurality of spark plugs projecting from the curved surface thereof, a gear toothed ring revolubly.

mounted on the rotor and'electrically insulated therefroim an arm on said ring positioned to be engaged by the spark plugs successively, a shaft arranged axially parallel with the rotor, and a pinion thereon meshing with the gear teeth of the ring.

tor in the path of the guide passages having the grooves thereof communicating at all times with the passages, an inlet pipe oommunicating with the groove of one ring, and an outlet pipe communicating with the 5 groove of the other ring. v

9. In an engine,' a rotor having a plurality of bores arrangeel parallel with the axis thereof, hollow shafts supporting the rotor, ports connectlng'the bores with said 10 shafts, a normally striiionary valve in. one.

LEWIS G. SPEEDY. 

